Free Republic

Speaking at the University of Sciences in Philadelphia, First Lady Michelle Obama urged the audience to “rouse your lazy friends to campaign for President Barack Obama’s reelection.” Though the prospect of inspiring the lazy to take action might seem daunting, Michelle reminded the audience of its importance. “Surely, even the most dedicated sloths can see that reelecting my husband is their best chance for protecting their way of life,” Michelle contended. “It’s not as if we’re really asking that much. The effort required is minimal and of short duration. A small investment of time over the next three months could...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the official unemployment rate remained above 8% for the 41st straight month. The picture for Black unemployment was even more discouraging bumping up in June to over 14% for all ages and to over 39% for those aged 16-19. The White House cautioned that voters should not place too much reliance on any one monthly report, but should look at the longer term trend. “A narrow focus on jobs misses the bigger picture,” Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger said in a written statement. “Over the last three years more...

A record 5.4 million former workers and their dependents have signed up to receive federal disability payments since Obama took office. At 6% of the potential workforce now, the ratio of persons on disability has more than doubled since the Reagan Administration. Add this to the 70% increase in the number of persons getting food stamps since 2007 and it is clear that the 2008 election of Barack Obama may be ushering in some transformative changes in the way Americans live. “The notion that people want to work is the flaw in Republican thinking,” said Obama adviser David Axelrod. “Work...

Is this the “bad optic” that President Obama’s critics have been waiting for: An Associated Press photo of the president taking a call on the golf course within the hour after the East Coast earthquake Tuesday? When Obama left for a 10-day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard last week, critics and supporters alike warned that the image of him pursuing leisure activities on the tony island might make for an unfortunate contrast with much of the country mired in economic doldrums. Turned out it was a natural disaster, not the economy, which pierced his vacation bubble. But now we have a...

The first family stepped away from the White House today to catch some college basketball at Howard University. First Lady Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson, the head coach of the Oregon State men’s basketball team, was in town for the matchup against HU. This was the president’s first public appearance since catching an elbow in the mouth during a basketball game. The White House now says that President Obama injured his lower lip. The White House originally told reporters the president got 12 stitches to his upper lip. The Obamas arrived to an enthusiastic but sparse crowd at Howard. President...

The latest statistics show that the official unemployment rate edged up to 9.6% in September. This 14th consecutive month with an unemployment rate of 9.5% or higher is the longest since the 1930s. President Obama cautioned that “these figures look worse than they really are because they don’t properly account for the leisure that has simultaneously been gained. If we just concern ourselves with the loss of hours worked we’re only seeing one side of the equation. An hour not on the job is an hour freed up for other uses. This leisure the nation has gained has a value...

While Newsweek's David Graham is hard at work defending President Obama's summertime leisure -- "A Short History of Presidential Vacation Outrage" -- by insisting that the press corps always complains about any president's vacation habits, it's instructive that he failed to indict his own magazine. "War on terrorism stalled, economy on precipice, time for a month on the Crawford ranch." Accompanied by a disapproving down arrow, that's how the August 5, 2002 Newsweek feature "Conventional Wisdom" derided President Bush's working vacation a mere three months before midterm elections in his first term.

Under the liberty and freedom section of the new GOP website America Speaking Out, more Americans voted to legalize Internet poker than weighed in on any other issue. That should come as no surprise. When President-elect Barack Obama solicited ideas on his new website, www.change.gov, legalizing Internet poker was one of the two top issues. It would be easy to dismiss this as a coincidence or as a manufactured grass-roots campaign, but there is more to this story. There are plenty of issues that face the American people and plenty of big trade groups to push those issues. But it...

Determined to change the terms of debate about the lackluster performance of the economy during his Administration, a combative President Obama asked voters to remember what it was like when President Bush was in the White House. “Under the previous Republican Administration over 95% of the labor force was forced to work for a living,” Obama reminded. “We’ve gotten that figure down to 90% and many of those are only working part time. Expanding the opportunity for leisure means more time spent with families, more opportunities to play golf or basketball, more time to do home repairs that had to...

As the oil arrives on the Louisiana shores, Obama goes golfing Posted by Jeff J Latest News May 22, 2010 Beaches closed in Louisiana.. Officials closed the public beach here Friday as thick gobs of oil resembling melted chocolate washed up, a very visible reminder of the blown-out well that has been spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico for a month. Up to now, only tar balls and a light sheen had come ashore. But oil was starting to hit the beach at this island resort community in various forms – light sheens, orange-colored splotches and heavier brown sheets...

Criticism that data on unemployment statistics don’t properly account for people being shifted from full-time to part-time jobs was brushed off by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev). “What these critics fail to consider is the fact that part-time jobs offer more leisure time,” Reid countered. “This extra leisure is a benefit that the Democratic Party has bestowed upon an overworked population. We don’t get proper credit for that.”

CBS’ Mark Knoller reports that the Obama Administration is on pace to more than triple the output of rounds of golf played by a president while in office. In his first nine months in office, President Barack Obama has played 24 rounds of golf. It took President Bush 34 months to play as many holes. The President’s Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, attributed the feat to “the superior dynamism of an agenda focused on hope and change. The faster pace set by the President is emblematic of the energy he has brought into the White House. It should bolster confidence in...

President Barack Obama conceded that unemployment would continue to “tick up” for the next few years, but this is not “all bad.” “Those who’ve lost their jobs have gained leisure,” Obama pointed out. “Leisure is a man’s preferred state. It requires compensation for him to sacrifice it. So, shifting a growing portion of the population toward leisure enables a greater share of our nation’s people to enjoy it.” The President said that a further advantage would be that “it will allow more people to be well-rested for the challenges of transforming our country into the more socially just nation that...

Shari Arison, the controlling shareholder in Bank HaPoalim and whose net worth declined by more than $1 billion last year, has put her “My Shanti” yacht up for sale. The asking price is $100 million. It includes a movie theatre and a banquet hall, a glass-enclosed sky lounge and a gym.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — The men gathered in a new golf clubhouse here a couple of weeks ago circled the problem from every angle, like caddies lining up a shot out of the rough. “We have to change our mentality,” said Richard Rocchio, a public relations consultant. “The problem is time,” offered Walter Hurney, a real estate developer. “There just isn’t enough time. Men won’t spend a whole day away from their family anymore.” William A. Gatz, owner of the Long Island National Golf Club in Riverhead, said the problem was fundamental economics: too much supply, not enough demand. The problem...

Storm-battered and abandoned in winter, Sweden’s harbor-side restaurants come alive in the summer. But two million boat lovers’ thirst for good food and seaside relaxation means tough work for the seasonal restaurant owners.

http://www.uclick.com/client/azc/blmd/1985/02/07/index.html

IN an effort to capitalize on the megadollars that megayachts can bring to a harbor area, coastal resorts around the globe are racing to build or retrofit their marinas to accommodate the colossal cruisers. [. . .] . . . new marinas . . . are being developed . . . To keep megayacht owners busy - not to mention spending - while their boats are parked at the marina, developers are surrounding their ports with high-end restaurants and retail shops. To entice yacht owners and their entourages to stay longer, they are also building luxury condominiums and five-star hotels....

From North Carolina comes a report that a State Senator wants to erase all game applications from state workers' computers. His belief: that preventing government employees from playing Solitaire and Minesweeper will recoup millions of dollars worth of productivity for the state. "...The solitaire crackdown here, though perhaps rare in its specificity, is part of a behind-the-scenes battle over personal time that's affecting not just unionized state workers in North Carolina, but sales reps in Washington and phone-bank workers in San Francisco..." This effort is, itself, a giant waste of time. It makes about as much sense as teaching Mandarin...

Ok, so I know we're all still celebrating (and praying - go US troops), but I wanted to start a thread here... What are you reading? What's your leisure reading after this great election? I'm re-reading one of my favorite books, "In the Gravest Extreme" by Massad Ayoob. Not sure what I'll read next. Any suggestions? Tell me what you're reading, fellow freepers.